Homework required to put forth this site, created a vision for me of my early
ancestors. I will present it here.

Some of
this theory is
absolutely correct, some is pure imagination on my part, some is somewhere in
between. I am well aware that there are various other ideas about who all
my ancestors were and where they all came from. My take on it all is not
to be taken as a quarrel with any one or any other ideas. I'm sure I'm
dead wrong about some or even much of what I have here. I intend to start
here and tweak it as my ideas about it all change. In any event, here is;

My
Theory

by
D Butt

William
Butt was born in 1637 in Bristol, Glocester-Shire County, England.

He came to
Portsmouth, New Hampshire in about 1660 when he was about 23 years old.He almost immediately moved to Dutchess County, New York, where he met
and also in 1660 married Elizabeth whose maiden name is unknown.Elizabeth was born in 1638 in Dutchess County, New York.William and Elizabeth then moved to Prince Georges County, Maryland.William died in
Prince George’s County, Maryland in 1715.

William
and Elizabeth had a son named Richard who was born in about 1670.One source says
Richard was born in Dutchess County, New York, another says Darnell’s Grove,
Prince George’s County, Maryland.In
about 1700 in Prince George’s County, Maryland, Richard married Mary, whose
maiden name is unknown.Mary
was born about 1680, and died after 1767 in Prince George's County, Maryland.After Richard’s death, Mary married Mr. Metcalf.Hence she is sometimes erroneously referred to as Mary Metcalf.

George
Green along with son Thomas (born in England), emigrated from Farmingdon,
Berkshire, England to Pennsylvania – now Kent County, Delaware - in July,
1683.They came to this continent
on the ship “Liver” out of Liverpool.This
George Green, while it's doubtful that he was a Quaker, was granted 2,000 acres
of land by William Penn.

A
Thomas Green, who I think was George Green’s son, is in Kent County, Maryland
in 1696."Old"
William Green, son of Thomas and unknown wife is born in 1695 in either Kent
County, Pennsylvania - now Delaware - or Kent County Maryland.In 1723, in Prince George's County, Maryland, "Old" William
Green marries Dinah Butt, b. 2/5/1707/8, in Queen Ann's Parish, Prince George's
County, Maryland, daughter of Richard Butt, b. 1670 and wife Mary.

Here
are some messages I received recently from Glenn Kinser of Shepherdstown, WV.

Here
is some information on William Green that I have been putting together in
the last week or so. I think it may add a few pieces to what most of
us previously had. I have tried to incorporate everything that I
have seen. I realize that the parents of William are not certain,
but had to start somewhere as a hypothesis. There is quite a bit
more to add, both from historical records and also from the archaeological
study that was conducted on the Green property. Please let me
know if you have any thoughts or corrections. Also please pardon the
formatting, I am not sure what happened when I transferred it from Word to
this email.

Glenn

William
Green, the son of Robert Green, was born
28 Dec 1694
in Portobacco(Port Tobacco), Charles Co. MD to Robert Green and Mary Ann
Boarman.He married in about
1723 in
Prince George
’s
County
Maryland
to Dinah Darke Butt b 5 Feb 1705/6 in Queen Anne parish, Prince George’s
Co. Dinah is the daughter of Richard Butt and Mary Metcalf(this may be her
second marriage, her first marriage might have been to a Metcalf. This is
the decendancy that appears to be correct for the Greens, however there
are other alternatives that people have proposed for William and Dinah.
Regardless of the ancestors of William, there is a great deal of
information on William Green and his family from both the historical
record and from information obtained by Dr. Charles Hulse during an
archaeological dig on the property near Shepherdstown once owned by the
Green family.

William Green and his wife Dinah probably had several of their
children prior to relocating to
Virginia
in the period of 1830-1844.The
dates for the couple and the birth of their children are quite variable in
the literature, which has made me wonder if there was possibly another
generation during this period.

William and his family settled approximately four miles north of
Mecklenburg
(later Shepherd’s Town, now Shepherdstown) by at least 1744.William acquired the land by purchasing it from Lord Thomas Fairfax
in 1751, but traditionally people lived on the land for a period of time
before the sale was final. The land was surveyed in 1751 and the farm
consisted of 197 acres (Shepherdstown Land Grant Map #97-36 No. 802). The
Fairfax holdings were originally surveyed by George Washington to
determine the exact boundaries because the original “Northern Neck land
grant” to Fairfax gave him all of the lands between the Rappahannock and
the “first fountain of the Potomac”.The original “
Fairfax
stone” was laid at the origin of the
North Fork
of the
Potomac
after the survey on
October 3, 1746
to delineate the boundaries of his land.The grant was originally issued by King Charles II in 1649.The source of the
Rappahannock
is 77 miles to the south, the two points encompassing the western edge of
Fairfax
’s holdings.

Shepherdstown developed slowly as the immigrants traveled the
trails of wild game and Native Americans westward to the Cohongaroota, as
the
Potomac River
was known above its confluence with the Sherando (Shenandoah) River.Many of these immigrants were German and they called the village
New Mecklenburg.The land was
originally granted to Isaac and John Van Metre(Meter) who had two years to
settle the grant, but they quickly sold it to Jost Hite.Hite sold 222 acres of his holding to Thomas Shepherd who laid out
the town on fifty acres in 1762.The
town was then called
Mecklenburg
and renamed Shepherd’s Town in 1798, approximately 20 years after the
death of Thomas Shepherd.

Geographical History of Shepherdstown

1741 Orange Co., VA

1751 Frederick Co., VA

1772 Berkeley Co., VA

1802 Jefferson Co., VA

1863 Jefferson Co., WV

Several listings in the 1751 Frederick Co., Court records listed
transactions of William Green.The
include the account that John Smith Jr. whose father operated the mill at
Turkey Run offset part of his obligation to William Green with three and a
half yards of checked linen and 36 feet of walnut boards.Green in turn, as is present in a commodity trading environment,
also was indebted to Smith and repaid him with a saddle, horse (gelding)
and cash.He also paid others
for bills that Smith had incurred.

Children of William
Green and Dinah Butt

Regnal Green ~1724-1740

William Green Jr. ~1728-1742

Mary Green ~ 1732-1743

Joseph Green ~1726-1744

Elizabeth
~ 1736-1751

Sarah Ann Green~1744-1750

Keziah Green 1734-1737-1748-1755

Dinah Green~1738-

The above dates represent a range that I have seen for the various
children of William and Dinah.I
put them here to illustrate the confusion found in the data and to show
why the dates are problematic.If
we use the latest dates of birth for each child, Dinah would nearly too
old to bear children.If we
use the earliest birth dates, say 1734 for Keziah Green, my ancestor, then
Keziah would be 51 years of age when she married Daniel Devault in 1785.
She continued to have children for about fifteen years, a near
impossibility.A second
spouse for William would solve some of the existing problems with birth
dates, but at this time there is no evidence for that.

William Green Sr. wrote his will
12 Nov 1776
and there is a final accounting in Will Book 1, page 216 of
20 Mar 1786
.He left one shilling
sterling to grandson William Green, son of Joseph Green(deceased), 98 ½
acres to Regnal(part of this Regnal had already received).Son William also received 98 ½ acres, thus distributing all of the
land that he had acquired in 1751 by grant. In actuiality, it appears that
the total amount of land actually left by William Green was 250 acres, 127
to William and 150 to Regnal. His wife Dinah received her “thirt”(third)
of his personal Estate with the remainder distributed to daughters Sarah,
Mary, Kezeah,
Elizabeth
, and Dinah.Regnal was the
sole executor and the will was presented to the court on
21 Mar 1780
.

The appraisal of the property of William Green at his death
provides an insight into the life of the Green family, both in terms of
the type of farming, but also their status in the frontier community:Pounds

A Gray Horse200Bed and Lumber30

Eight Cattle600 Corn and Bacon100

Eleven Sheep150Tobacco, Wool, &

Five Hogs39Earthenware60

Two Hives of Bees153 Wheels,Pewther &

Plow and sundry Iron30Lumber52/10

Three Hides9Chest7/10

Sundry Old Casks20Bed & furniture30

Wheat in Ground60Potts and hook tubb25

Old Waggon & Gears 120Side Leather9

Old Gun341 Ct Thread90

Old Hackle2Total1752 Pounds

Dinah Green’s Will can be found in Berkeley County Will Book 3,
page 492.It was written
6 June 1800
and probated
21 Feb 1803
.It states that Dinah Green,
widow of William Green, deceased, had two daughters: Sarah Butt, widow of
Richard Butt who receives 2/3 of her estate, and Dinah Green married to
Joseph Dean have half the remainder if she comes for it.She mentions Regnal, her granddaughter Dinah Butt and
granddaughters Susanna and Ruth Butt.Her grandson Isaac is named executor.This will also establishes that she is the mother of Regnal Green
and that son William who had died in 1799 left a widow Mary Green(who
married John Butt).

Note
he name "Dinah Darke Butt". The middle name is
unconfirmed. Note also the name "Mary Medcalf/Metcalf".
This was not Mary's maiden name. She married a Metcalf after Richard Butt
died.

Dennis,
I have made a couple of suggestions to the text of your document that may
help. Portobacco was the original name, but the newer name is Port
Tobacco. I checked on the name of the County in Maryland where much
of the family appears to be from using one of the possible William Greens
and it is Prince George's County. The name Shepherdstown
apparently was not used until some time in 1802, before that it was either
New Mecklenburg or later Mecklenburg. I bolded the term
Shepherdstown because that is the only spelling that I am aware of except
for the fact that for a while it was called Shepherd's Town. I am
not sure about the dates for that usage. I will try to look up info
and see if New Mecklenburg is east of Shepherdstown, but at this time I do
not think so. It is possible that it was closer to the crossing know
as Blackford's Ford, but the land there is very steep and not really
buildable. I am sure that the Green property is north of
Shepherdstown, as I passed it daily on my way to work. George
Washington surveyed the farthest reaches of the Fairfax Grant to determine
"the first fountain of the Potomac" which is marked by the
Fairfax stone at the state park. I have been there and should have a
picture. The advantage of this survey is that it gave Fairfax much
more land, allowing a line to be laid out connecting this location to the
head of the Rappahannock River. The Fairfax stone placement also
marked the western boundary of MD and a vertical line extended northward
to PA marks the end of MD and the edge of VA. I hope that all of
this explains the reasons for my comments below.

It
is recorded that there is an indenture by William Green's son and heir,
Regnal Green I, to a Joseph McMurran, dated Dec 11, 1800
stating that his father ( William Green I ) had purchased
297 acres of land, by deed, from Thomas Lord Fairfax, on the 13th day of
J_____(blank), 1751.No
record of this event can be found, other than in this indenture by
William's son 49 years later.

According
to the book "The Green Tree" by Robert M. Green, William and his
family settled about 4 miles north of Mecklenburg(Shepherdstown),
Virginia around 1751.William
purchased his land from Lord Thomas Fairfax (297 acres) in 1751.Lord Fairfax had this land surveyed by a young George Washington
prior to the sales.

"History
of Shepherdstown 1730-1931" Germans originally
settled this area around 1720-1730 calling their new settlementNew Mecklenburg which was probably just east of present day Shepherdstown.At the time the Northern Neck of Virginia was a dense wilderness.there were also settlements named Potomoke and Pack Horse Ford.The year of settlement may have been as early as 1707.In any event, Jost Hite sold 222 acres of land to Thomas Sheperd,
which Hite originally bought from Isaac and John Van Metre, on Oct 3,
1734.Shepherd
laidout a town on 50 of
these acres in 1762, and called it Mecklenburg.Later the town was to use all 222 acres.In 1798 the town changed it's name to Shepherd's
Town in honor of Thomas Shepherd who died in 1776.In October of 1765 the Virginia Assembly granted Thomas Shepherd
the right to establish a ferry from his property to cross the Potomac into
Maryland and rescinded this act becauseThomas Swearingen had previously established a ferry from his
property to Maryland, just a short distance from Shepherd.

Note
on Shepherdstown area of Jefferson Co, Virginia:

1741-Orange
Co, Virginia

1751-Frederick
Co, Va

1772-Berkeley
Co, Va

1802 Jefferson Co., VA

1863-Jefferson
Co, W.Va

Many
records are not available due to destruction during Civil War battles.Several Green marriages were performed by Rev Hugh Vance, a
Presbyterian.

Notes
for DINAH
DARKE
BUTT:

Will,
Berkeley Co, Virginia, made June 6, 1800, proved Feb 21, 1803

I
believe that our Dinah's surname was Butt, and that she was the Daughter
of Richard Butt who died in Prince George's Co, Maryland, in 1715.We still need to investigate the records of St. Barnabus
(Episcopal) Church in Queen Ann's Parish, Prince George's county,
Maryland.The relationship is
not yet sufficiently proved to Richard Butt.The name Regnal is found often in the Butt family, and also in the
Odell family.The Odell's
were neighbors of the Swearingen's, Duvall's, and Butts in Prince Georges
Co, Maryland.

Dinah
apparently spent her final years with her daughter Sarah Green Butt, wife
of Richard Butt I.

WILL
BOOK 3, pg 492-494, Berkeley Co, Martinsburg, W. Va--Dinah's will is on
file there.She only mentions
daughters Sarah Butt, and Dinah Dean, and son Regnal Green.Also granddaughters Dinah Butt, Susanna Butt, and Ruth Butt, and
grandson Isaac Butt.Apparently
all her other children were gone by the time she made her will.She did mention that the sum she left her daughter Dinah Dean was
only to be given to her "provided she comes for it herself", no
doubt because Dinah and her family had moved to far from the
family--either Ohio, or Kentucky.

Dinah
was known to have left the area where her mother died, and did not ever
return.Her mother mentioned
her in her will, written abt 1801-1802, but the stipulation was that she
could have it "provided she herself came for it."Nothing has been found further on this child.

Notes
for JOSEPH
DEAN:

Apparently
Joseph moved his family from Virginia to either Ohio or Kentucky, and
contact with them was lost.

Here
are two maps that show these locations in England with respect to London and the
rest of England and Wales about 100 years after William Butt was born.

I
have placed a red arrow on this map to point out the locations of Glocester-Shire
and Berk-Shire Counties and Liverpool which is in Cheshire County.

Here
are two migration maps that bring the the Green and Butt people from England to
this continent and then together
in Prince George's County, Maryland. They are Thumbnails. Click on
them to enlarge them. Then when you're finished viewing them, to return
here, click the
"BACK" button in your browser address bar.

Richard Butt, b. 1670 is the only known child of William and Elizabeth.

Notes
for RICHARD
BUTT:January 3, 1700 Richard Butt of Anne Arundel Co, Maryland purchased 206-1/4 acres of land called "Batchelor's Delight" which was part of
"Darnell's Grove" from Robert Tyler** who had recently purchased it from
Richard Marsham. This land was on the side of Collington Branch (See map
below) and had been in Calvert County, but at the time of the transfer was in
Prince George's County. It was bounded by the remainder of Darnell's Grove
and the land of Samuel Duvall* and Robert Bradley. Robert Tyler and his
wife Susanna** acknowledged the deed. It was witnessed by Richard Duckett
and Lewis Duvall****. Richard was "of Anne Arundel County" and was
named as a "planter"*. Purchase price was 69 pounds sterling.Deed recorded February 25, 1700, volume A page 349.

**Robert
Tyler was married to Susannah Duvall. Susannah was
a sister of Benjamin Duvall, the father of Sophia Duvall who married Thomas
Butt, b. 1705. Mary Butt, daughter of Thomas Butt and wife Sophia Duvall
married another Robert Tyler. This Robert Tyler was the son of Edward
Tyler*****, son of the above mentioned Robert Tyler and wife Susannah Duvall, making
Robert Tyler, the husband of Mary Butt, the grandson of Robert Tyler and wife
Susannah Duvall. Rachel Duvall*** who married Richard Butt, b.1703 was the
daughter of Samuel Duvall. Samuel Duvall and Susannah were
half-siblings. Lewis Duvall****
was the brother or half-brother of Susannah. Thomas Butt and Richard Butt were brothers and sons of
Richard Butt, b.1670, and wife Mary, the owners of Bachelor's Delight.

!"Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties" p104-107
Immigrant from Nantes, about 1650. He came as one of the 150 adventurers
brought over by Colonel William Burgess. Settled near Col. Burgess in Anne
Arundel Co., on the South side of the South River and became a successful
merchant and planter of that favored section.

He left his third wife a such vast estate that she became the third wife
of Col. Henry RIDGELY, and later the wife of Rev. Mr. HENDERSON, the
commissary of the Church of England.

Mareen's will was probated in 1694; about the time of the removal of the
Capitol from St. Mary's to Annapolis. It is not known who were his first
wives. His heirs, in order mentioned in his will were: his wife, Mary, who
inherited a life interest in "Middle Plantation" with the
remainder at the death of his stepmother; Elizabeth, who received 150
pounds sterling and 375 acres call "Bowdels Choice" in Calvert
County; Benjamin, who received 150 pounds sterling and 200 acres, which
was one-half of "Howertons Range"; Mareen the younger, who
received 150 pounds sterling and 300 acres called "The Plains"
in Calvert County; Mary who received 150 pounds sterling and 320 acres
called "Morleys Grove" and 370 acres called "Morleys
Lott"; Johanna, who received 150 pounds sterling and 311 acres called
"Larkins Choice" and 200 acres called "Duvalls Range",
both located in Anne Arundel Co.; John who received 5 shillings, all
wearing apparel and a silver tobacco box. John was appointed co-executor
with his brother, Lewis, and his brother-in-law Robert TYLER; Samuel, who
received 5 shillings; Mareen the elder, who received 5 shillings; and
Susanna, who received a silver tankard. It has been suggested that Mareen
might have been partial to some of his children. In view of the holdings
of his other children, it is preferred to think that he was insuring the
security of the younger children. Mareen;s widow, Mary, married second
Colonel Henry Ridgely Sr.

One wife was closely allied to John LARKIN, a neighbor and enduring friend
of Mareen. Five of his 12 children were married during his lifetime.
"Mareen the Elder" also called "Marius", by his
mother-in-law, married Frances STOCKETT, daughter of Thomas. He was
ancestor of John P. DUVALL (Virginia Legislature member). Capt. John
DUVALL, who held a large estate, married Elizabeth JONES, daughter of
William JONES, Sr., of Anne Arundel Co. Their daughter Elizabeth, married
Benjamin WARFIELD, youngest son of Richard, the immigrant. Her sister,
Comfort, married William GRIFFITH, of Frederick Co.

Eleanor DUVALL, of Mareen, married John ROBERTS, of Virginia. Samuel
DUVALL married Elizabeth CLARK, in 1687; Susannah married Robert TYLER and
was the ancestress of General Bradley T. JOHNSON; Lewis DUVALL married
Martha RIDGELY, only daughter of the Honorable Robert RIDGELY, of St.
Inigoes, in 1699.

I think Marin, as spelled in SKORDAS' Early Settlers of MD (from land
records), was the ancestor of all the early DUVAL(L) families in Maryland.
I've seen two possible places of origin for Marin, b. ca. 1630, Remiremont,
Lorraine; or Laval, Mayenne, France. He had will pr. 13 Aug. 1694, AA, MD.
Here are some clues to narrow your search a bit.

5. Mareen the Younger left a will as Mareen, Sr., pr. 9 Je. 1741, AA: To
wf. Eliz. & ch. Mareen, Samuel, John, Jacob, Lewis, Benjamin; daus.
Susanna FOWLER, Eliz. DENUNE, Ann CARRICK, & Mary.
____
Garrett may also have been spelled Ger(r)ard, and the one that married
Sarah DUVALL might have been son of the first.

ELIZABETH3 IIAMS (ELIZABETH2 CHEYNEY, RICHARD1) She married (1)
CAPT. DANIEL CLARK. He died October 1696 in All Hallows Parish, Anne
Arundel Co, Maryland. She married (2) SAMUEL DUVALL June 18, 1697.
He was born Abt 1667.

Children of ELIZABETH IIAMS and CAPT. CLARK are:

THOMAS4 CLARKE, b. September 28, 1688.

WILLIAM CLARKE, b. September 11, 1691.

RICHARD CLARKE, b. July 30, 1694.

Children of ELIZABETH IIAMS and SAMUEL DUVALL are:

ELIZABETH4 DUVALL, b. Abt 1697; m. EDWARD TYLER.

SUSANNAH DUVALL, b. Abt 1699; m. ALEXANDER FALCONER.

RUTH DUVALL, b. July 31, 1703.

ESTER DUVALL, b. October 04, 1705; m. WILLIAM WEST.

SARAH DUVALL, b. August 28, 1708; m. JAMES BECK, April 01, 1733.

LUCY DUVALL, m. WILLIAM FORREST, July 01, 1735.

RACHEL DUVALL, m. RICHARD BUTT.

Here's
a relationship chart of these people and others.

___________________

Here
is some information I received on May 21, 2008 from Polly Horn and Howard
Butts. It is the estate of Edward Butt who was thought to be the son of
the above, Thomas Butt and Sophia Duvall. This information sheds new light
on these relationships and those of us who descend from them.

___________________

This
is from:

r c h i v e s o f M a r y l a n d O n l i n e

Acts
of the General Assembly hitherto unpublished 1694-1698, 1711-1729

An Act to Enable Benjamin Duvall of
Prince Georges County to Sell two hundred Acres of Land part of a tract of
Land called Howertons Range & for entailing other Lands in lieu thereof.

Whereas Mareen Duvall Late of Ann
arundell County by his Last Will and Testament in writing duly Executed,
proved and Recorded. Bearing the thirteenth day of August Anno Dom.
Sixteen hundred and ninety four, gave to his son Benjamin Duvall a parcell
of Land therein mentioned in these words following viz. I give and bequeath
unto my Son Benjamin Duvall Two hundred Acres of Land it being a Moiety or
one half part of four hundred Acres of Land called and known by the name of
Howertons Range, Lieing scituate & being in the County of Calvert
aforesd & that part or Moiety that lieth on the South side of the said
four hundred Acres, it being Equally divided, To have & to hold the same
unto him my said Son Benjamin & to the heires of his Body Lawfully
begotten for ever and in Default of such Issue then my Will is that the same
Moiety or part, shall fall or goe, to the next heir or heiress, of or from
me legally descended, And forasmuch as the said Land is not only almost worn
out, but Cut down & the Timber destroyed, but involved in troublesome
Disputes, and for that the said Benjamin has made a very Advantageous
Exchange wth one Robert Tyler of Prince Georges County, of one hundred and
fifty Acres of much Valuable fresh and well timbred Land, being that part of
a tract of Land that Lies in the North West Corner of a tract Called
Darnalls Grove Lieing in Prince Georges County upon wch the said (p.480)
Benja Duvall is now making a Settlement in lieu of the aforesaid two hundred
Acres of Land, he has prayed that notwithstanding the Severall Limitations
of the Estate in and to the said Five hundred Acres of Land in the
aforementioned Will he may be enabled by an Act of Assembly to make over a
Good Estate in fee Simple of the said Land unto the said Robert Tyler and
his heires forever, the said Robert Tyler Conveying by a Good Sufficient
Deed, of Sale wth general Warranty unto the said Benja Duvall the aforesd
one hundredand fifty Acres of
Land, under the same Limitations of the Estate therein, that the said Two
hundred Acres of Land was by the aforsd Will Subjected to, To that end hath
prayed, that it may be Enacted, And Be it Enacted by the Rt Honble the Lord
Proprietary by and wth the Advice and Consent of his Lordps Governeur &
the upper & Lower houses of Assembly and the Authority of the same, that
the aforesaid Benjamin Duvall be and is hereby Empowered to sell Assign
Convey transferr & make over by deed of sale unto the aforesaid Robt
Tyler his heirs & Assignes forever a Good & Sufficient Estate in fee
Simple of and to the above mentioned two hundred acres of Land being part of
a tract of Land called Howertons Range in as full and ample manner to all
intents and purposes as if the same by the aforementioned will had been
given to him the said Benjamin & his heires forever without any
Limitation in the said Will, anything in the said Will to the Contrary
notwithstanding. Provided allways that at the same time that the aforesd
Robert Tyler his heires shall and do make over and Convey by a Good &
Sufficient Conveyance with a Generall Warranty the aforementioned one
hundred and fifty Acres of Land part of a tract of Land called Darnell's
Grove in Exchange of the aforesaid two hundred Acres of Land unto the said
Benjamin Duvall under the same Limitations & Restrictions, as the said
two hundred Acres by the aforementioned Will and Subjected to. And Be
it further Enacted that the said Benja Duvall and the heirs of his body
lawfully begotten forever, and in default of such Issue the next heir or
heiress from the said Marreen Duvall, the Testator legally Descended
henceforth shall be & they are hereby Vested with the same Estate of in
and unto the aforesaid one hundred and fifty Acres of Land part of Darnells
Grove being already laid out & in the possession of the said Benjamin at
the North west Corner of the said Land called Darnalls Grove, when so made
over and Conveyed as aforesd as was given and intended to be given in the
aforesd two hundred Acres of Land in the same manner as if the said one
hundred & fifty Acres of Land had been given to the said Benjamin Duvall
& the heires of his Body lawfully begotten for ever, and indefault of
such Issue then that the same Land shall fall or go to the next heir or
heiress, from the said Marreen Duvall Legally descended by the will of the
aforesaid Marreen Duvall Saving to the said Proprietarie his heirs
Successors and all bodies Politick & Corporate & all others not
menconed in this Act their Severall and Respective Rights.

Here's a link to
the Marietta House Museum which was built by Judge Gabriel Duvall on part of Darnell's Grove property.

The
next section here will be devoted to some definitions and an attempt to put some
geographical boundaries around Darnell's Grove and Bachelor's Delight.

*The term "Planter" was used to designate one who had
"Indenture's". Planters had certain responsibilities with respect
to the indentures.

Collington
Branch is a component of the Patuxent River. The Patuxent River
was first named ("Pawtuxunt") on the detailed map resulting from
the 1608 voyage upriver by Jamestown, Virginia settler John Smith.
Captain Smith got as far as the rough vicinity of the present-day Lyons
Creek area, 40 miles from the Chesapeake on what is now the Anne
Arundel - Calvert - Prince George's County tripoint.

On
this map you will see Bowie, Maryland and Western Branch. The 3,800 acre
Darnall's Grove tract and within it, the 206-1/4 acre tract called Batchelor's Delight
that was purchased by Richard Butt in 1700 are very near Bowie and the North end
of Western Branch.

There
was a Gabriel Duvall, b. 12/6/1752 in Prince George's County, Maryland, d.
3/6/1844 also in Prince George's County, who served as a Supreme Court Justice
from 1811 - 1835. This can be found at the Supreme Court Historical
Society web site. The address is at the end of this document.

Here's
part of an endnote from that site.

Duvall
was born at "Darnell's Grove," his father's property in central
Maryland. By purchase and land trades, Gabriel Duvall established
his large "farm," which he named "Marietta," in Prince
George's County. After Duvall's death, his two grandsons divided the
property. "Marietta"; the family graveyard was included in
the other parcel, known as "The Wigwam." The main house is
still standing and is located about 2_ miles west of Bowie, Maryland on
Bell Station Road, 0.3 miles north of State Highway #450. The Duvall
family graveyard is 0.6 miles further north on Bell Station Road, then 0.3
miles east on an unmarked dirt road.

Here's
a map of Collington Branch, Bowie, Maryland, the Northern part of the Western
Branch and Marietta.
Below is a map showing Collington Branch, the Southern end of the Western
Branch, St.
Barnabus Episcopal Church and the town of Leeland, Maryland where Samuel Butt,
the Planter, husband of Elizabeth Swearingen was born. These two maps
include all of Collington Branch and all of the Western Branch. I have merged these two maps and
included the merged map below.PGCF12.GIF

Below
is a map, which locates Collington Branch and Darnall's Grove.

In the center there is a
"+" sign just to the right of Upper Marlboro. Note Andrews Air
Force Base to the left of Collington Branch and Upper Marlboro. Darnall's
Grove is the red square at the top, just below the Goddard Space Flight Center
and just to the left of Bowie.

Here
are some documents acquired from the Maryland State Archives. The first is
the cover letter.

These
two pages - 8 and 9 - are from the "Land Office" Patent Record dated 1683
- 1684.

Land Office Patent
Record. 1683 - 1684

This is a partial transcription from Howard Butts of Martinsburg of the above
two pages.

This is four pages from the Prince George's County Court Land Records dated 1696
- 1702.

Prince George's
County Court Land Records

These
were received on March 19, 2008. Here are partial transcriptions of the
above along with some other corresponding information from Howard Butts of
Martinsburg.

Below is a much larger map showing Collington Branch, Western Branch, St.
Barnabus Episcopal Church and the town of Leeland, Maryland where Samuel Butt,
the Planter, husband of Elizabeth Swearingen was born. This part of
Collington Branch is South of the area shown above in the map that includes
Bowie, Maryland, and Marietta, home of the Supreme Court Justice, Gabriel
Duvall. As mentioned above, this map along with the one above showing the
location of Bowie, and the home of Justice Duvall together include all of
Collington Branch. I've not been able to define the boundaries of
Darnell's Grove, or Bachelor's Delight but they had to be somewhere in these two
maps. Collington Hundred is also on these two maps somewhere. PGCG12.GIF

Here are some notes from the Net about Darnell's Grove, Collington, Maryland,
the Hundreds, and other information that helps determine where Bachelor's Delight might have been.

Born in Mattaponi,
near Nottingham, Prince Georges County. Maryland, Bowie attended Reverend
John Eversfield's School near Nottingham, the common schools in Annapolis,
and Craddock’s School near Baltimore. His father bought him a
large farm near Collington, Maryland, known originally as "Darnell's
Grove" and later as "Locust Grove" and "Willow
Grove". (See photo's below.) He served as one of four members of the Maryland
constitutional convention from Prince George's County in November 1776.

Collington,
Maryland is a now defunct settlement in Prince Georges County,
Maryland dating from colonial times. Collington has been subsumed by
the city of Bowie, Maryland.

Originally
referred to as "Collington Hundreds", the settlement was more
recently known as "Collington". As the city of Bowie has
expanded, the term has fallen into largely cultural usage, used in street
names such as Collington Road, shopping centers and housing developments.

(The term
"hundred" originated in England as an area which could produce
100 fighting men in time of war.)

One of the
earliest references to Collington, is in the proceedings of the Council of
Marylandfrom 1696:

"An Accot
of the Hundreds in the Severall Counties of the Province Vizt ...
Prince Georges County is divided into Six Hundreds Vizt

Mattapany
Petuxant
Collington

1 Hundreds.

Mount Calvert
Piscattoway
New Scotland

The Patuxent,
an Algonuquian people indigenous to what is now the Mid-Atlantic,
United States.

The Patuxent
River in Maryland, named for the people

Here
are photo's of the Bowie house along with an except from an e-mail I received
from Susan G. Pearl, Historian for the Prince George's County Historical
Society, in response to my request for information.

Yes, in the 18th/19th century, there was a plantation known as Willow
Grove (and sometimes Locust Grove) of the family of Walter Bowie in
the northcentral part of the Darnall's Grove tract. The
beautiful house burned to the ground in 1974, taking with it many
records of the Bowie family. But the larger D.G. tract of course
included several other plantations and farms in addition to Willow/Locust
Grove.

Robert
Bowie of Prince George's County Maryland has the distinction of having
been the first Democratic Governor of the State. His brother
Walter, also a Revolutionary War patriot, owned the farm Collington,
then known as Darnell's Grove, later as Locust Grove and still later
as Willow Grove.

Early
Maryland had two geographic subdivisions within its counties; the "hundreds" were designed to make
political administration within the counties more efficient
and were laid out by the counties. The "parishes",
on the other hand, were laid out by the Province and were self-governing
units for the supervision of the churches. The hundreds and
parishes were completely independent of each other. Origin of the use of hundreds goes back to Anglo-Saxon times and for many years
the constable was the only officer and was responsible for
keeping of the peace. If a person was appointed Constable and
refused to serve, he was subject to a fine of five hundred
pounds of tobacco or two months imprisonment. As new settlers
came and the population grew, new counties, hundreds and
parishes were created and boundaries changed. The
system of hundreds lasted in Prince George County up to 1848 when it gave way to the use of election districts.

William HARBIN was in attendance at Prince George Parish when they
met on September 18, 1719 to decide where to locate a new
chappel (sic). Their decision was apparently based on
the fact that Piscataway and New Scotland hundreds had 791
taxables with an expected yield of 31,640 pounds of tobacco
per annum so that area became St. John's Parish. Meanwhile
the Eastern Branch, Rock Creek and Potomack (sic) hundreds had 545
taxables with an expected yield of 21,800 pounds of tobacco and would
become a new parish described as running "from the mouth of the Eastern Branch to the fork thereof and so up with the NE branch
that makes the said fork unto the head thereof, thence
continuing the course of the said branch by a straight line
til it strike Patuxent". The vestry house was to be 16'
long and 12' wide, "overjetted", with an inside
chimney, 8' pitched roof, and iron hinges. The cost was 2,500# tobacco
- if not done on time, there was a forfeit of 5,000# tobacco. There were to be 14 pews. All payments were to be made in tobacco.
The land was part of a tract called Generosity on the Piney
Branch of Rock Creek. William continued to be mentioned as a member of
this parish through 1731. In December 1726 he was chosen
church warden, and in April 1727 he was chosen vestryman and
replaced as warden. He was voted out though in April 1728. In
April 1731 he was paid 120# tobacco "for wine for the
sacrament and mending the lock & key for the church door".

(All of the above information came from reading the Vestry
Proceedings on a microfilm from the LDS Library.)

1696
Mattapany Hundred (from Swanson's Creek to Mattapany Branch) which split to Prince Frederick in 1741. Formerly in Calvert County.
Mount Calvert Hundred (from Mattapany Branch to the western branch
of Patuxent). Split again in 1707 & included Western
Branch Hundred. Formerly in Calvert County. Collington
Hundred (from Western Branch to Collington Branch) Chapel of St. Paul's Parish on Collington Hundred became St. Barnabas,
built on tract called 'Something' (known as "brick
church"). [At
the very bottom of the map that shows the location of Darnell's/Darnall's
Grove you will find the tract called "Something". I
have outlined it in red. Also see map below of Collington Branch and Western Branch] Patuxent Hundred (from Collington to
Patuxent) Piscataway Hundred (from Mattawoman to Oxon Run)
which split to King George's in 1741. Formerly in
Charles County. New Scotland (from Oxon Run to the
falls of the Potomac) which split in 1715 at Eastern
Branch of Potomac & north side was called Rock Creek Hundred
- which split in 1722 into 3 parts: Potomac Hundred (land beyond Rock
Creek); Eastern Branch Hundred (land between NE & NW branches of Eastern Branch); and Rock Creek Hundred (land between NW branch
& Rock Creek). Split again in 1745 into Midle Hundred;
again in 1795 Rock Creek became 13th District.
1728 Monocacy Hundred established (land beyond Seneca Creek) &
split into Lingamore & Seneca in 1741
1739 Antietam & Concocheaque established from land beyond
Shenandoah Mtns
1744 Newfoundland Hundred established & Marlborough Hundred
& Pipe Creek Hundred.

This is the map I made by
merging the two maps included above into one. It is 3/4 the size of the
above maps so some detail is lost. But one can still get a very good
bearing on this location from this map. It shows the entirety of
the Collington Branch, the confluence of it and the Western Branch, the entirety
of the Western Branch, Bowie,
Maryland, Leeland, Maryland, St. Barnabas Church and Marietta. The red
line is the county line between Prince Georges and Anne Arundel.
Somewhere on this map is where Darnell's Grove and Bachelor's Delight must have
been. I've added to this map on the left side, a mileage ledged and
another from St. Barnabas Church to Leeland. The approximate length of
Collington Branch from it's origin at the Western Branch to it's end near
Marietta is 10 miles. It's about 3/4 of a mile from the St. Barnabas Church
to Leeland.

From the information above
about the boundaries of the Hundreds (Collington
Hundred (from Western Branch to Collington Branch) Chapel of St. Paul's Parish on Collington Hundred became St. Barnabas,
built on tract called 'Something' (known as "brick
church"), one
can be certain that the Collington Hundred was between the Western Branch and
Collington Branch and that it stretched at least as far North as the St. Barnabas
Church. It's almost as certain, that it stretched North to the ends of the
Western and Collington Branches.

This is from "Historical
Information, Founding of the Society" of the Duvall Society web
page. "St. Barnabas Church was built on land given by John and
Elizabeth Duvall in 1708. Here's another copy of the above relationship
chart. Note, as with the above chart, it includes this John and Elizabeth Duvall.

Richard Butt acquired the 200+
acre Bachelor's Delight in 1700. His son Samuel Butt the Planter was born
in Leeland, Maryland in 1712.

Darnell's/Darnall's
Grove was surveyed in 1683. It amounted to 3,800 acres. This is
from "Prince George's County Circuit Court Land Survey, Subdivision, and
Condominium Plats MSA S1596: (Patents, PG, Tract Index). From their site
it appears that this survey is downloadable. A user name and password is
required, which I have requested. I'm hoping I've struck paydirt
here. I'll just have to wait to see what happens. In any event, this
survey exists. It's a matter of figuring out how to get my hands on it.

One square
mile is 640 acres. 3,800 acres would amount to almost 6 square miles.
This is a square that is 2.44 mile by 2.44 miles.

Here's
a map I received from the
above mentioned Susan G. Pearl,
Prince George's County Historical Society Historian. It shows the
exact 3,800 acre Darnell's/Darnall's Grove tract. I have outlined in red,
the tract called "Something" where the St. Barnabas church was
built. I've also underlined some other notable locations. This can
be compared to the next map which shows all the same notable locations only from
a different view.

This map shows the location of Darnall's
Grove with respect to all the other places mention to this point. I have
included in the Darnall's Grove area on this map, approximations of the relative
size of the 206-1/4 acre Bachelor's Delight, both in a square and rectangle
area. This gives us another idea about the area Bachelor's Delight might
have covered. We know for the information from the Maryland Archives that
Batchelors Delight was on the West side of Collington Branch. You will
note from this map that we now know the approximate location of Batchelors
Delight but that the exact location is very hard to discern. PGCF12 and PGCG12 with Darnall's Grove.GIF

This
is all I have at the moment on the exact location of Bachelor's Delight.

Here
are some survey's from the early- to mid-1700's that are interesting.

This
one is for Richard Marsham on November 26, 1731. It is not very
helpful in determining the exact location of the 206-1/4 acre Batchelors Delight
of Richard Butt, b. 1670. It reads in part; "Beginning at the
Northernmost corner of the _ Warring land called Mount Pleasant and running
thence East three hundred & Eighty Seven...". The only place I
can find a Mount Pleasant, near Darnalls Grove is in the far right map from
the National Park Service, U S Department of Interior. They refer to it
elsewhere as "Mount Pleasant Landing". It doesn't help locate
Batchelors Delight but it does help to verify the location of Darnalls Grove.

This
is a 1745, Prince George's County survey for a 100 acre tract called Batchelors
Delight It was executed on November 1 for Joseph Chaplin. It's not
much help in determining where Batchelors Delight was located as it started with
" the beginning from a bounded White Oak tree standing by the side of Fe_
_y _roves (illegible) Spring Run." I have not been able to determine
what these words are, nor have I been able to find any location on any map that
might be this "Fe_ _y _roves Spring Run". Any help determining
what these words are will be much appreciated.

This
one was done June 23, 1713 for William Ray, ETAL., for 413 Acres called Bealls Hunting
Quarter. Bealls Hunting Quarters can be seen on the above map that outlines
the 3,800 acres of Darnalls Grove within which was the 206-1/4 acre Batchelors
Delight of Richard Butt. It adjoined the land called
"Something", upon which St. Barnabas Church was built. Further,
one would have to think that William Ray was somehow related to Mary Ray, the
mother of Elizabeth Swearingen the wife of Samuel Butt, b.October. 10, 1712.

July
19, 1708, Richard Butt witnessed the will of Thomas Swearingen of Prince
George's County, Maryland.

St.
Barnabus Episcopal Church, Queen Anne's Parish, Prince George's County, Maryland
Church and Land

Records:Richard and Mary Butt had the following children:

Richard
b. 11-11-1703
- in Queen Anne's Parish, Prince George County, Maryland, and died Before
November 28, 1744 in Prince George's County, Maryland. He married RACHEL
DUVALL
About
1740.

Thomas
b. 12-29-1705
- in Queen Anne's Parish, Prince George County, Maryland, and died before May
20, 1757. He married SOPHIA
DUVALL
before
1732. She was born about 1710.

Rachel
and Sophia Duvall were 1st cousins.

Dinah
b. 2-5-1707/8
- (Bill Richardson had 1707.) in Queen Anne's Parish, Prince Georges County,
Maryland, and died about 1802 in Berkeley County, Virginia. She married WILLIAM
GREEN
(“Old” William) about
1723 in probably Prince Georges County, Maryland. He was born about 1695
probably in Maryland, and died about 1779 in Berkeley County, Virginia.

“Old”
William Green and wife Dinah Butt had a daughter named Sarah Green, b. 1730 who
married Richard Butt, b. 11/21/1747, who was the son of the above mentioned
Richard Butt and wife Rachel Duvall making Richard and Sarah 1st
cousins, their common ancestors being Richard Butt, b. about 1670, and
wife Mary.This Richard and Sarah
Butt would go on to found Buttstown, Virginia.

Mary
b. 3-2-1709

Samuel
b. 10-10-1712
- in Queen Anne's Parish, Prince George County, Maryland, and died before
September 6, 1786 in Montgomery County, Maryland. He married ELIZABETH
SWEARINGEN
August
1, 1734 in Queen Anne's Parish, Prince George's County, Maryland, daughter of VAN
SWEARINGEN
and
ELIZABETH
WALKER.
She was born July 4, 1715, and died 12 May 1796 in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Samuel
and Elizabeth had at least 14 children, four of whom were:John, Richard, Rignal and Bazil.

Here's
Polly Horn's study of Samuel Butt The Planter and wife Elizabeth
Swearingen. You will note that it's revision #12!!!! Lotsa work in
this thing. THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH POLLY!!!!!!!!!!!

On
page 9 here you will find "Rolla Green who married Isabella
Huston". They were my gr gr grand parents. You can check them
out in the "All About my Great Grandmother Catherine Clarissa 'Katy'
(Green) (Gould) Butt" section of this site.

On
page 2 here you will find John Luther Butt, son of Basil and Mary (Burress)
Butt. On page 7 here you will find Clarence Julian Butt Sr. and Clarence
Julian Butt Jr., the DNA test of the latter of whom matches 8 others including
me. I am being cautious, but it appears as though my gr gr grandfather
Bazil Butt, b. 3/13/1797 descends in some way which is yet to be determine, from
Richard Butt of Batchelors Delight. At least now I am practically certain
we are searching in the correct place.

From
the above information about William Ray Sr., I've made the following relationship chart.

The
above 413 Acre survey of Bealls Hunting Quarters was done for William Ray, ETAL.
on June 23, 1713.
The William Ray Sr. in the above relationship chart seems to be too young to
have been the one who requested the Bealls Hunting Quarters survey. He was
also from Fredrick County. This Marey Ray would also be too young to have
been the wife of John Swearingen and the mother of Elizabeth, wife of Samuel
Butt. I include this here because it's hard for me to believe there was no
relationship between the Ray's in this part of Maryland at this time.
Perhaps someone can add something to this chart that will resolve this question.

Here's
a posting by Patrick T. Dolan that proved us with the ancestors of Elizabeth
(Ray) Swearingen, but not Luke, the husband of her daughter Elizabeth Butt.

WILLIAM
AND ANNE RAY

Family
Group Sheet by Patrick T. Dolan May 8, 1999

Husband:
William RAY

Married:
abt 1676 [1] ENG [1]

Died: w
pr 12 Jan 1737-8 [1] Prince George’s Co MD [1]

Parents:
John Ray Jr. [1] or William Ray Sr. [2]

____________________________________________________________

Other
information: Settled in Pr George’s Co MD; in 1698 Ninian and Ruth Beall
deeded to William and his wife Anne a land lot known as “Bred and Cheese” in
Queen Ann’s Parish. William Ray was a vestryman of St. Barnabas Church [1].

Wife:
Ann-- [1]

____________________________________________________________

George Norbury MacKenzie, Colonial Families of the United States of America,
pp. 73-74 (Beall News, II:34 (Sept 1992), p. 53) has the following list of
children for Ninian BEALL, Sr:

This
Mary (aka Marie) Henderson was previously married to the above Mars Duvall,
b.1625. The John Duvall who was the Executor of this will was the
one who gave the land called "Something" upon which St. Barnabas
Church was built.

Here
are some notes about John Swearingen and wife Mary Ray taken from "Public Members Stories" on
Ancestry.com. This couple was the parents of Elizabeth Swearingen who as
best I can determine was my 5th great grandmother, which would make this couple
my 6th great grand parents.

Here's
a relationship chart that includes most of all the above along with other
significant relationships on down to me, Dennis W. Butt.

Here
are some notes about Ambrose Cook Hawker and wife Lydia Butt taken from "Public Members Stories" on Ancestry.com.

______________________________

Here
are a couple more downloads that include names/places of significance.

Liber
31, folio 955
30 Aug. 1762
CHAPLINE, MOSES, Frederick Co.
To my wife, Jennett, for widhood, the plntn. where I live
& my 3 negroes, Tobie, Ross, & Judia, besides what rhe law allows.
To my son Josiah Chapline, the part of the Resurv. on Mount
Pleasant S of the road from Swearingens
Ferry to Frederick Town & Josiah Bitt.
To my son Moses Chapline, the rest of the sd. Resurv. with
the original, on the N side sd. rd.
To my son William Chapline, 1/2 the lands purchased in
partnership with Peter Rentch on Kittortan Crk.
To my dau. Ruth Lintey, a negro girl of age 6 yrs. or more.
To my dau.Elizabeth Chapline, negro boy Gabriel, a horse
& saddle, & a decent suit of clothes.
I sold Part of the Resurv. on Weldone to Alexr. Grim for L
30 . . .
The residue of my p. e. is to be equ. div. among my chldn.
Josiah, Moses, Wm., Elizabeth, Mary, Agness, Ester, Lydia, & Lovica
Chapline,

except my dau.Ruth, but if any of my chldn. d. before they come to age or mar . . .
Extrs: my sd. wife & Joseph Chapline.
Witn: John Perins, William Good, John Waller.
17 Nov. 1762, sworn to by Perins & Waller in presence
of Josiah Chapline, heir at law.

There
was a "Mount Pleasant" mentioned in the above survey of a Batchelors
Delight, requested by Richard Marsham on November 26,
1731.

______________________________

This
is information received recently from a person who found this site.

Mar.
5, 1750Depositon of ELINOR
LACKLAN, widow of JOHN PRATHER, JR., dec'd., "who was the
Administer of Edward Prather, deceased".A paper in this file states that Ann Prather is the widow of Edward
Prather.[Testamentary Papers, Box
51,
folder 28, H. of R.]"

This
is from yet another site.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY MARYLAND MARRIAGES 1795-1798

GROOM

SURNAME

DAY

MONTH

YEAR

BRIDE

SURNAME

Edward

Medcalf

11

Feb

1796

Cloe

Butt

Nicholas

Beckwith

10

Aug

1799

Mary

Butt

The
purpose of this endeavor is to identify the parents or father at least of Bazil
Butt, b. 3/13/1797. None of the above has shed any light whatsoever on
that matter. We will continue to pursue this quest!!!

Notes
for RIGNAL BUTT:

1739
abt born in Prince George's Co, Maryland

1776
Muster rolls for the -- Militia Battalion, 5th Company, Class #5 included a
Rignal Butt and a

Swearingen Butt

1778
Oath of Fidelity in Montgomery County, Maryland included Rignuld Butt

1783
28 Aug named in father's will written in Montgomery Co, Maryland

1800
census living in Montgomery Co, Maryland, age given as over 45.

1810
census there is a Rignel Butt living in Botetourt County, Virginia. Could this
be him? Probably

not as this Regnal
apparently died in abt 1811 leaving a wife and several children.

1821
7 Nov Rignal Butt wrote his will in Montgomery Co, Maryland. Named sons Aaron,
Basil, and